The project to generate 48 MW of electricity will be built with home investment and preparations to that end have been made, said Project Chief Shiva Kumar Basnet.
The project aiming to provide irrigation and hydro power generation simultaneously is aimed at completing in the next five years.
The Bheri River water will be dropped at Babai River at Belhawa VDC of Bardiya district from Ram Ghat VDC of Surkhet district.
A power house will be built in Ramghat VDC of Surkhet district and 48 mw power will be generated and the water dropped in Babai River will irrigate some 51, 500 hectares of Bardiya district.
The water will be taken through 12 km tunnel. It will have total cost of Rs. 16 billion and Rs. 2.5 billion has been demanded from the Ministry of Finance for the next fiscal year for smooth works.
Project chief Basnet says, as locals have demanded early construction, they will also be involved in construction.
The government also plans to give shares to local people, says Basnet. The project site is only 2.5 km from Kohalpur-Surkhet road portion. The Irrigation Ministry has also kept it as an important project, said Irrigation Ministry Joint Secretary Kamal Prasad Regmi.
It will be moved ahead as ´One ministry one special project´.
Kuwait Fund and Abudhabi Fund have shown interest in it and government also aims to move ahead diversion projects in various places of the country.
Such other projects will be in Tamor-Morang, Sunkoshi- Kamala, Sunkoshi-Marin-Bagmati, Shaktikhor-Chitwan, and Kaligandaki-Tinau and West Seti -Kailali Diversion.
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